


Tea and Sunshine

by Cornerofmadness



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25683757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness
Summary: Malcolm is at his wits end under the watchful eye of Nurse Ilsa and is hoping for a diversion.
Comments: 19
Kudos: 42
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020





	Tea and Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cozy_coffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cozy_coffee/gifts).



> **Disclaimer:** Not mine, Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver owns it
> 
> **Notes:** written for cozy_coffee in comment_fic for the prompt of any, any, Sunshine. It takes place between _Internal Affairs_ & _Wait and Hope_. Also part of it was inspired by [ this](https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/52556965) piece of art by l122y

Malcolm glanced around his loft, spotted no one so he crept toward his door. He got as far as Sunshine’s new bigger cage when he heard a soft clearing of someone’s throat. Wincing, he schooled the disappointment off his face and turned with his best fake smile plastered on his face. “Yes, Ilsa?”

“You know your mother doesn’t want you sneaking out of the house.” The sturdy nurse eyed him like she was contemplating which Judo move to use on him first if he didn’t comply with her every order.

“Not sneaking out,” he lied because what else could he do? He had texted Gil, JT, and Dani to come rescue him but no one had responded. That probably meant they had a case. Without him. Sure they did other cases without him all the time. He was there for the weird stuff but now he couldn’t be there at all until his hand was out of the cast, until his insides were well and truly healed, until he could fake his way through a psych evaluation. “I was just going to let Sunshine stretch her wings.”

Ilsa shot him a look that said she knew damn well his lying pants were on fire but she nodded. “I can catch her if she does not come to you.”

Malcolm shuddered to picture that one. He put his hand in Sunshine’s tall, rectangular cage, and she popped onto his cast. She had taken a liking to sharpening her little beak on the ridge just behind his knuckles. He was so over wearing this damn thing. He’d been scratching all the itches under it with the end of a wooden spoon until Ilsa caught him at it and lectured him about excoriations on his skin where no one could see and how they could get infected. He’d looked contrite until she had gone to another part of the loft to clean, and he’d started up again with the spoon. He’d also managed to split his own lip with the cast in his sleep, which made her clean the cut with hydrogen peroxide until he nearly cried. If Mother didn’t reconsider this woman, he might go up to the roof top garden and jump. 

Sunshine stretched her wings but decided against flying at the moment, lazy thing. She twittered at him and Malcolm whistled back. What else was there to do? He was tired of reading at the moment and he watched everything he wanted to on TV. He was bored. That was never good. His mind prayed on him when he was bored. He needed a case. Maybe he should text Gil back and beg.

With a rustle of feathers, Sunshine took off, circled the living area, and then landed on his head. Malcolm sighed. Even his pet seemed as bored as he was. Naturally, this was when someone decided to buzz the door, startling her and her little claws dug into his head. At least she didn’t poop on him, which would be par for the course for this day.

Malcolm hurried to the door before Ilsa could get there and tell everyone he was a ninety-year-old man on his death bed and couldn’t be disturbed. “Hello?” Malcolm didn’t care who was there. He’d let in anyone. Girl scouts with cookies, kids with band candy, a Jehovah Witness, an axe murderer because at least that wouldn’t be boring. 

“Buzz us in, bro.”

Grinning at the sound of JT’s voice, Malcolm buzzed them in as Ilsa shot him a sour look. “Could you put on a pot of tea, Ilsa? Thank you.” He unlocked the door and went to sit on the couch with Sunshine still riding on his head. He didn’t want to antagonize his nurse. She was just doing her job but some of it he could do without. When JT knocked on the door, he called for them to come in, hoping it was Dani with him. Malcolm wasn’t disappointed.

Dani carried a box that promised pastries. Thank god. The only non-healthy thing Ilsa gave him was hot toddies to help him sleep and even that could be seen as medicine. “You’re looking better,” she said, her eyes sweeping over him.

“You have a bird on your head.” JT smirked.

“Sunshine got scared by the buzzer, which she doesn’t hear all that often.” People rarely visited him. Gil and Mother had keys and Ainsley usually had better places to be. She texted him daily but didn’t often make the trip over to see how he was doing. Malcolm put his hand on his crown and coaxed Sunshine onto a finger. Instead she took off and went soaring about.

“Still can’t believe you have a parakeet,” JT said.

“Would you prefer he still had snakes?” Dani arched an eyebrow at him.

“Hell no.” JT beelined for the weapons. He hadn’t been here before and Malcolm let him peruse that part of the collection.

“What flavor of tea would you like me to brew, Mr. Bright?” Ilsa asked, opening the cabinet he had stocked with tea. It was one of the few well stocked pantry items he had until she had showed up. Now he had a fridge bursting with health food, half of which didn’t agree with him. At least she had been willing to add cheese to his menu. 

“JT, Dani, any preferences?” 

“I don’t usually drink tea,” JT said, not looking away from the weapons.

“I’m willing to try anything.” Dani put the box on the island counter. 

“The French Blend, please, Ilsa. It’s from the Brooklyn Tea company, which is a locally owned place in Brooklyn. Have you ever been there?” Malcolm asked. 

Dani shook her head. “I tend to stick to the Bronx. We brought you donuts.”

“I’m not sure Mrs. Whitly would approve,” Ilsa broke in.

“She doesn’t need to know,” Malcolm waved her off. “I’ll get plates.”

“You sit. I’ll get the cups and plates,” Ilsa replied.

Dani walked over and sat next to him. “How are you doing? You sounded frantic in your text.”

“Melodramatic is the word I used,” JT said, pointing to a sword. “Is this as old as it looks?”

Malcolm nodded. “English, twelfth century. You can take it down if you want.”

JT shook his head. “Probably costs a year salary if I drop and break it.” 

“And it’s surprisingly heavily. And the word I would have used is I’m bored to death. I need you to save me.” Malcolm glanced over his shoulder and added in a whisper, “Especially from her.”

Dani beamed, mischief in her eyes. “Still making you strip and stay in bed?”

“Mostly, yes. Please take me somewhere. I don’t care where.”

“Eat your donut and we’ll see,” she replied.

“Do you have a case?”

“Hell no, bro.” JT stabbed a finger at him. “We’re not falling for that. You know Gil says no cases for you until you’re healed up.” 

“What Gil doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Malcolm said, wondering how far he could manipulate his friends to his own ends. These two were frustratingly hard to do that with. Gil was easy. Edrisa would require none at all. Maybe he should have texted her.

“Do we need to inflict something else Ilsa will need to take care of for you?” Dani asked chirpier than Sunshine.

Ilsa’s head snapped up. “He has enough concerns. He needs to have his shower soon.”

“I showered before you got here, Ilsa. I do _not_ need help taking a bath. I’m fine. I just put a bag on my cast. Go look at the towels if you don’t believe me,” he huffed, then whispered to Dani. “She never believes me.”

“Why do I get the impression if we had gotten here ten minutes later we’d have caught you half naked racing around the loft trying to escape her?” Dani patted his knee.

Malcolm rolled his eyes. He’d laugh only that had actually happened twice already. 

“Speaking of the bathroom, do you mind?” JT asked.

Malcolm pointed the way. “Help yourself.” As JT trundled off, Malcolm turned to Dani. “What kind of donuts did you bring and also, thank you!”

“Strawberry milkshake for me, the maple bacon bars are in theory for you but I’m pretty sure JT will gnaw your hand off if you go for one so I guess lemon poppyseed or Manhattan creams for you.”

“So, I should grab one of the bacon ones now?” Malcolm grinned, starting to get up.

Ilsa jabbed a finger at the couch and grabbed the box. She brought it over with some napkins and the plates. “You sit.”

“Will you even eat that?” Dani rolled her eyes.

“I want to try a piece of it. I’ll get a knife.”

Ilsa thumped his shoulder and went to fetch it.

“Save me, Dani. _Please_ ,” he said under his breath.

“Will that upset your mother?”

“I don’t care. You won’t be the one who has to deal with her wrath.”

“Pass. This is too funny.” Dani chuckled as the tea kettle blew. 

Ilsa poured the water into the pot and brought him a butter knife as JT returned.

Malcolm waited for her to move off before asking JT, “Dani isn’t helping. Will you save me from this place?”

“Only if you explain why one man needs so many products in a shower.” JT chuckled. “Or do you have a secret girlfriend we know nothing about.”

“I take care of my skin. There I answered. Save me from Ilsa.”

“If I don’t, will I have to see her strip you and toss you in the shower?” JT eyed him speculatively.

“Maybe. I can only run so far and so fast right now before my side stitches up.” Malcolm sliced through the bacon maple bar to JT’s astonished gasp. He picked up the small bite and said, “Just a taste. The rest is yours.” 

“Thanks, I guess.” JT picked up the truncated donut.

“Will you have tea or no?”

JT shrugged. “I can have some.”

“Ilsa, three please and can you bring me some of Sunshine’s seed? If she flies down here, I don’t want her in the donuts, thanks.”

“Of course. And then you rest.”

“I’m fine, Ilsa. I promise. I don’t need a shower. I’m sure Dani would say something if I did since she’s sitting right next to me, and I don’t need a nap. I have a broken hand. I’m not five,” Malcolm said, feeling like maybe, just maybe, he was five because he felt like throwing a tantrum at this point.

“You do smell fine,” Dani said.

“That’s because he has more product in his shower than my wife.” JT flopped down in the chair next to the couch.

Malcolm narrowed his eyes. “It’ll serve you right if Sunshine poops on you.”

“Nice. Eat a donut.”

Malcolm took the Manhattan cream figuring that would keep less well than the others. Ilsa carried the tea cups over with sugar and honey.

“You might not be five, Mr. Bright, but your mother has strict rules.” Ilsa gave him a look. “I’ll be cleaning the shower since you’re adamant you’re done with it.”

“Thank you,” he said and as soon as she was out of earshot, begged his friends again, “Please save me.”

“Dani, you said she was an East German Judo medalist,” JT said.

“Olympic medalist,” Dani confirmed.

“You’re on your own, bro.” JT shook his head. 

“Can you at least shoot me? Not a kill shot, just enough to actual warrant this level of nursing care.”

Dani rapped his uncasted hand with a spoon. “No. Drink your tea.”

Malcolm sighed heavily. “Tell me something, anything. Not necessarily about a case, just what are you up to, why you won’t smuggle me out of here, anything.”

Dani wagged her head. “How about you tell us how you’re really doing?”

“I’m _bored_ ,” he said drawing the word out.

“You know that’s not what we’re asking about,” JT said, sipping his tea. He shrugged and took a bigger drink. “You were kidnapped and tortured. You wouldn’t talk about it in the hospital. You came back to work uninvited and way too early and did some really hinky stuff that could have flat lined your brain. How are you now?”

Malcolm managed to take a bite of his donut, chewing slowly, wondering if he could get out of this. He didn’t want to talk about the fact his father tried to kill him. That was the worst part of everything Watkins had done to him. It hurt more than being stabbed. “I’m not well. I’m sure you guessed that much if Gil didn’t outrightly tell you. But what I have yet to convince Mother of is having nothing to do is worse. All I have are these bad thoughts rolling around my head. I’m being serious. I would like to go out somewhere. I just need to go out and do something. I don’t care if we go down to the nearest park and sit on a bench.”

Dani nodded quickly, her eyes confirming she understood that he truly did need a break from his loft. “Yeah, sure, we can go out if you think that will help. This is all healed up by now right.” She tapped her abdomen in a rough approximation of where he had been stabbed.

“I’m fine that way. I just need a break from these walls and this.” He flicked a finger against his temple. “I even thought about asking you to take me to Mother’s for a visit. At least it wouldn’t be here.” Malcolm jumped when Sunshine swooped down and landed on his shoulder. Malcolm leaned forward and put some seed from the tray on his cast and she hopped down to pick at it.

“But I’m not sure I can be there without thinking about everything. At least all the blood is cleaned up by now.” Mother had never said a word but he knew he’d left a trail of blood through three levels of the home.

Dani squeezed his hand. “It’s fine. We’ve been there checking up on your mother with Gil. Any place you’d like to go?”

“I’ll let you two pick.” Malcolm frowned as Sunshine pecked at the tea cup. He reached for more seeds but Dani intercepted him. She got the seed for the parakeet.

“We can do that. You know, this tea is good,” JT said, changing the subject, letting Malcolm breathe a little.

“Thanks and so are the donuts. And in the future, JT, I really am fine with you having a close up of the weapons if you want to see any of them. I enjoy talking about the collection.”

“He does, trust me.” Dani chuckled. “I’ve heard it a couple of times.”

“Do you want to take your donuts back?” Malcolm finished his tea.

“They’re for you,” Dani said.

“Good.” Malcolm stood and put Sunshine back in her cage. “Are you ready?”

JT snorted. “Eager aren’t you?”

“Yes.” 

Dani put the tray back on the kitchen counter for Ilsa and once she and JT were out the door and on the steps, Malcolm called, “Ilsa, I’m going out with my friends. I’ll be back soon.” He shut the door, slipped past the two of them and all but ran down the steps. “I’m probably going to find myself shackled to the bed more than I usually am.”

“No doubt. You know what, Edrisa does a true crime podcast every other Friday with one of her friends. Sometimes JT and I show up and add a little something to it. Would you like to come with us?” Dani asked.

Malcolm beamed. “That sounds perfect.”

And it did. He’d had enough of resting. A little outing was exactly what he needed. It’d be nice to see Edrisa too. He’d missed his friends. He missed his calling, which was what his job really was. He might not be back yet and truthfully he did have healing yet to do but that meant more than lounging in his bed. His friends got that and for that he was grateful.

**Author's Note:**

> Brooklyn tea is a real company. You can find them [ here.](https://brooklyntea.com/) (and their stuff is good).
> 
> Also check out _The Trip_ for the plethora of product Malcolm has in his shower.


End file.
